Contrary to most people, I'm not terribly fond of autumn. It's not that I don't love the brilliant foliage and the golden, slanted sunlight. It's that fall is a messy season. I mean, come on. I spend months trying to keep my pathways clear and my beds and borders free of unnecessary detritus. And then it all goes to hell in a hand basket in October, reinforcing the futility of this thing called gardening. It's like splattering paint all over my canvas and it's depressing.
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| Rosa 'Cinco de Mayo' in front of Rhus typhina 'Tiger Eyes' or Tiger Eye Sumac. |
So the macro shots are aplenty as I wander the garden paths, ignoring the frustration of leaf litter.
The Dahlias are happy.
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| This is the first blossom on this Dahlia. Patience. (I don't remember its name.) |
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| And also the first blossom on this one. |
Serendipity. . .
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| Arbutus unedo and Fuchsia hatsbashii |
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| This is a "climbing" fuchsia but it needs support. I love how it wends its way up the Arbutus and to have them blooming simultaneously is just good luck. The bumblebees find those white bells irresistible. |
The rose blossom below is no bigger than a nickel. Tiny, but powerfully fragrant, it comes from a plant growing in a container outside one of the hoop houses at Gindhart Nursery. A sign below it reads, "Mom's Old Rose, 1955." I've admired it for years and this spring, when I saw that they had propagated it, I had to get one of my own. It's been blooming all summer.
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| Rosa 'Mom's Old Rose' |
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| Dainty and exquisite. Unfortunately the leaves are plagued with spider mites but I just cut them off when they start looking yucky. |
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| Rosa 'Jacques Cartier' is extremely fragrant. I'll be picking this, adding a few sprigs of Hall's Honeysuckle to a vase and enjoying the combined fragrances for several days. |
Also during a trip to Gindhart Nursery, I purchased a small pot of Boston Ivy. At the nursery, there is an entire wall of this beauty and I hope I can get mine to do something similar on a trellis near my compost pile.
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| Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) |
I will allow one photo of a particularly decent looking area of the garden. LOL
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| Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' is in the foreground. I bought it recently after learning that it is the identity of Mindy's fabulous plant. If luck is on my side, mine will someday look as outstanding as hers. |
There you have it. I hope you all are enjoying every moment of your fall gardens.
